Removable closure for television cabinets



Dec. 31, 1957 M. MANETTI ET AL REMOVABLE CLOSURE FOR TELEVISION CABINETS 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed March 5, 1954 5 w fi nmww 5 2mm 3 a kiwi Dc. 31, 1957 M. MANETTI ET AL 2,818,559

REMOVABLE CLOSURE FOR TELEVISION CABINETS Filed March 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .ZFTZZEZTZCUEE MAB/0 MANETTI F250 MANETT/ United States Patent REMOVABLE .CLQSUR FQR TELEVISION CABINETS 'MariotManettinnd-Ered'Manetti,;OakPark, lll.

ApplicationMa d 19.54,.Sefial No. 414,470

2 Claims. (Cl. 340--367) This invention relates to back closures for television cabin ets. lt provides an improvement in such .closnres WhQI'QbY thC back of the televisiontubeis made more ac- ;cessible ,for inspection, testing and the like, while theentire closure is firm, tamper-proof and workmanlike in other respects.

Back closures of the general kind contemplated herein are usually associated with back panels of a television cabinet, a more or less rounded opening being provided in the back panel in order to provide room for the back of the television tube in known manner and the edge of the opening having local projections inwards from a true circular shape in order to provide anchorage for flanges, fiangelike areas or the like on the back closure member. Heretofore it was necessary to insert the back closure member into the opening of the back panel by a rearward motion starting in the front of the panel, and accordingly to remove the television tube, etc. each time that the back closure member was inserted or removed, unless the back closure member was merely fastened to the back surface by screws or bolts which was neither safe nor practical. Under such conditions, obtaining access to the back of the television tube was a major operation.

This latter operation is greatly facilitated by the new construction, by means of a novel application of the basically well-known bayonet type of fastening.

The details will be understood more clearly upon a perusal of the description of preferred embodiments which follows, wherein:

Figure l is a diagrammatic side view of a television cabinet with the new closure member.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary back view of the same cabinet with the closure member removed.

Figure 3 is a similar back view of a slightly modified ca'binet.

Figure 4 is a back or end view of the new closure member.

Figure 5 is a side view partly in section of the new closure member.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a detail taken along lines 6-6 in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side view of a modified em bodiment of the back closure and Figure 8 is a fragmentary end or back view of the modified back closure.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 the cabinet 10 for the television tube 11 has a back panel 12 with a suitable aperture 13 formed therein for the back end of the television tube. In order to accommodate this back end of the tube the opening 13 has an edge configuration of approximately circular shape with a minimum inner diameter suitably larger than said end of the tube. In order to accommodate a bayonet fitting of the closure the opening has a plurality of relatively wide areas 14, shown in the present case as bounded by circular arcs with their center in the center of the opening, and a corresponding number of intermediate restricted areas 16 which are .hereformed by .reversely..curve d boundary edges 17 inwardly projecting into the opening.

his also possible to form :the enlarged areas 14A by inwardly concave tboundary edges 15A and more 1 or less radial edges 15B'as shown in Figure 3, with inwardly projecting panel areas 16A formed by said radial edges 15B and inwardly conc-aveedges 17A;.and various other modifications are. possible inthis respect.

.uReferringnow. to Figures '4,;5 :and16:

The new .cover member :18 comprises a .backwardly tapering side wall 19, an end'wall.'20..and.a number of arcuate flanges .21 and: intermediate arcuate counterflanges 22 extendingroutwards afrom therfront .portion .of the side wall 19; the number ofsuch flanges corresponding with the number of enlargements 14 for the opening #13. The counterflanges'22 are.v secured to the :front end of .the side .wall 19'by stubzwalls ;23. forwardly projecting therefrom, sufiiciently to space wthe rback :surfacesof these counterflanges from the .front surfacesof the main flangesi21 .by a distance approximatelytequalxthethickness of the cabinet panel 12.

The main flanges 21 are preferably rigid with the side wall 19 by means of a plurality of gusset ribs 24 interconnecting each main flange with the side wall, whereas the counterflanges 22 preferably are flexibly attached to the front ends of the stub walls 23 as best shown in Figure 6. By this expedient the anchoring of the cover 18 to the back panel 12 is improved. Such anchoring is further insured by the provision of a wedge or tooth 25 extending along a central arcuate part of the outer area of the back surface of the counterflange and having a high point 26 adjacent one end 27 of the counterfiange. This construction tends to induce some little twisting of the counterflange 22 during the insertion of the cover, and such twisting can be further facilitated by a construction wherein the counterfiange 22 lies in a plane slightly inclined to that of the main flanges 21 as best shown in Figures 5 and 6 wherein the back surface of the counterflange is shown at 28.

The new cover 18 can be installed on the back of the television cabinet 10 whether the tube 11 is in place or removed. In either case the tube is brought to the back of the panel 12 with the counterflanges 22 oriented to be superimposed over the enlarged areas 14 or 14A of the aperture 13. When the front surface of the main flanges 21 are in contact with the back of the panel areas 16 or 16A the tube closure is rotated about its own axis, with the pointed ends of the wedges 25 forward, thereby causing engagement of panel areas 16 or 16A between the flanges and counterflanges. For this purpose the main flanges 21 and panel areas 16 or 16A desirably have greater arcuate extension than do the counterflanges 22 and enlarged aperture areas 14 or 14A.

Thus the tube can be left in position with the high points 26 of the wedges 25 somewhere in the inwardly projecting panel areas 16 or 16A and with the lateral end portions of the arcuate main flanges 21 in contact with the lateral end portions of said inwardly projecting panel areas. In this manner the opening 13 is closed (except for apertures 29 which may be provided in the end wall 20).

In order to remove the closure member 18 it is simply rotated further until the wedges 25 ride off the inwardly projecting areas, whereafter the member can be backwardly removed from the panel 12. Reinsertion can be effected in the same manner as the original insertion.

In some cases it is preferable to make the removal of the closure member relatively difficult in order to prevent tampering more safely. Such safety is further insured by the provision of a stop member 30 forwardly projecting from the front surface of each main flange 21 at one lateral end thereof, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. It will be understood that these stops, pursuant to suitable bayonet action of the counterflanges 22, come into contact with the opposing edges 15B of the corresponding hole enlargements 14A of Figure 3, thereby preventing further rotation of the closure member in the inserting direction.

Backward rotation of the member is normally substantial ly prevented by the tooth profile of the wedge 25 at the high point 26, so that the cover provided with the stop 30 and tooth 26 is practically tamper-proof. Removal of the cover, with the tube 11 installed or removed, is still possible by means of a suitable tool (not shown) inserted between the panel 12 and the main flange 22 and holding the counterflange 22 down.

It will be understood upon a study of these constructions that further modifications are possible, within the scope of the claims which follow.

We claim:

1. As a removable closure member for the back wall of a television cabinet, at cup-shaped member comprising a side wall having a closed back end and an open front end; a plurality of arcuate flanges peripherally spaced apart about and extending outwards radially from the side wall adjacent to but slightly behind the front end thereof; and a corresponding number of arcuate counterflanges peripherally spaced apart about and extending outwards radially from the side wall at the front end thereof in peripheral positions located between those of the flanges, the arcuate extension of the flanges being greater than that of the counterflanges and all counterflanges being forwardly spaced from all flanges by slight and substantially uniform distances so as to accommodate the back wall therebetween.

2. A closure member as described in claim 1 wherein the flanges are rigid with the side wall and the counterflanges are flexibly connected with the side wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,585,233 Dzus Feb. 12, 1952 2,586,177 Peck Feb. 19, 1952 2,609,117 Miller Sept. 2, 1952 2,627,359 Woodward Feb. 3, 1953 2,642,566 Regnier June 16, 1953 

